When is Bella Culley due? Pregnant UK teen accused of drug trafficking scheme walks free from Georgia prison

Bella Culley is released from prison due to her young age and pregnancy. Culley is a 19-year-old from Billingham, Durham, England. She was arrested on May 10, 2025, at the Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia after the customs officers found 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish in her luggage.

She was placed in Georgia's women-only prison, Rustavi Prison number 5, after admitting guilt to smuggling. The teenager also told the judge that she is pregnant. Bella Culley is currently eight months pregnant and due in December 2025.

Bella noted that she was supposedly tortured by gangsters in Thailand, and they burned her wrist with a hot spoon until she agreed to carry the drugs to Georgia.

Culley then reportedly flew to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and arrived in Georgia. According to The Independent's November 3, 2025, report, Bella completed an access course at Middlesbrough College and had plans to become a nurse.

She went on a Southeast Asia tour with her friend in April 2025. After traveling in the Philippines for three weeks, they went to Thailand. A few days later, she went missing in early May. Bella Culley then arrived in Georgia and got arrested.

As per the court documents, she told the judge that she was "forced" to smuggle drugs, and she only wanted to travel.

"I didn't want to commit this act," she said. "They forced me under violence and torture. I was only planning to travel. I'm a loving person, a university student training to become a nurse. I was only planning to travel, and bad things happened to me."

Bella's family was informed in September 2025 that if she were convicted, the prison sentence could be 20 years. According to the BBC's report, her parents raised and paid nearly £137,000, or approximately $180,000, to reduce her sentence. Notably, the teenager's father is an oil rig technician, and her mother is a charity worker.

The prosecutors decided to free Bella Culley on November 3, 2025, due to her plea deal, age, and pregnancy. The news outlet reported that Bella smiled at her mother and cried as she hugged her after the hearing.

Pregnant British teenager Bella Culley has walked free from a Georgian prison after her family paid £137,000 in fines for attempting to smuggle cannabis from Thailand 😳 pic.twitter.com/33j9GlqKID

— Great British MC 🇬🇧 (@greatbritishmc_) November 3, 2025

Bella Culley's mother opened up about the harsh living conditions in prison

Lyanne Kennedy, the British teenager's mother, told the press that her daughter spent months at the Rustavi Prison Number 5, where Bella used an electric kettle to boil pasta. She even used a candle's flame to toast her bread.

Kennedy claimed that the women's only prison did not have enough sanitation, the prisoners were permitted only one hour of fresh air daily, and communal showers twice a week.

This month, Bella Culley was moved to a mother and baby unit where she was given better facilities. Lyanne shared that her pregnant daughter was cooking proper meals and was helped by other inmates. They were also allowed two hours of outdoor time, a private shower and improved toilet facilities.

Bella Culley and her family are currently returning to the UK. Notably, it is unknown whether she would face any legal troubles in her home country. Stay tuned for more updates on the Bella Culley drug smuggling case.